Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Diest and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,039 in Diest, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Diest
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Diest Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Diest

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,039

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Diest and in Cebu

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Diest and in Cebu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,039 in Diest versus $918 in Cebu.

Diest $2,039
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,023 in Diest versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Diest $3,023
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,006 in Diest versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Diest $4,006
Cebu $1,900

Living in Diest is roughly 122% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Diest is 51% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.41 €19.93

$3.09 ₱194

625.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.0 €81.0

$24.22 ₱1,525

275.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.89 €10.58

$3.92 ₱247

203.32%

Cappuccino

$3.58 €3.19

$2.51 ₱158

42.63%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 €2.66

$1.59 ₱100

88.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 €2.32

$0.53 ₱33.43

390.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.41 €4.81

$1.78 ₱112

203.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.99

$2.17 ₱137

106.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 €1.08

$1.92 ₱121

-36.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.36 ₱85.4

97.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 €2.01

$1.01 ₱63.5

122.77%

Eggs

$3.71 €3.30

$2.03 ₱128

82.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$9.86 ₱621

78.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.11 €10.77

$4.39 ₱277

175.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.17 €17.05

$7.60 ₱479

152.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$3.30 ₱208

-15.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 €2.04

$1.39 ₱87.8

64.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 €2.33

$2.33 ₱147

12.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.92 €2.60

$1.50 ₱94.3

94.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.36 ₱149

-3.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.90 ₱119

2.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.19 ₱74.9

21.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 €0.89

$0.63 ₱39.71

58.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.26 €10.01

$3.00 ₱189

275.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.75 €6.89

$6.03 ₱379

28.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.23 ₱77.7

65.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.75 ₱110

2.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.06 €2.73

$0.25 ₱15.86

1124.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.07 €5.40

$0.77 ₱48.62

688.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.22 €1.98

$0.23 ₱14.53

865.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.08 €23.20

$4.46 ₱281

484.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.95 €1.73

$1.31 ₱82.8

48.85%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.8K €31.9K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

68.56%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$34.0K €30.2K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

77.41%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$203 €180

$120 ₱7,569

68.48%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$21.37 €19.01

$14.00 ₱882

52.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.3 €46.56

$27.54 ₱1,734

90.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.70 €32.65

$32.33 ₱2,035

13.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.59 €17.42

$6.65 ₱419

194.59%

Cinema Ticket

$14.51 €12.91

$5.65 ₱356

156.81%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$847 €754

$275 ₱17.3K

207.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.2K €17.1K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

142.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.7

$49.33 ₱3,106

106.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.75 €42.47

$25.24 ₱1,589

89.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$77.0 ₱4,846

32.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$146 €130

$57.2 ₱3,601

155.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$907 €806

$500 ₱31.5K

81.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$828 €737

$309 ₱19.4K

168.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 €1,235

$1,078 ₱67.9K

28.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 €1,054

$615 ₱38.7K

92.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,230 €3,762

$2,886 ₱181.7K

46.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,905 €2,584

$1,917 ₱120.7K

51.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,063 €1,835

$346 ₱21.8K

496.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

7.2

-51.94%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Diest: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Diest

$828 40.6%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 62.7% $519

Groceries & Markets

Diest

$345 16.9%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 40.2% $139

Eating Out

Diest

$316 15.5%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 72.1% $228

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Diest

$276 13.6%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 41.4% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Diest

$179 8.8%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 47.5% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Diest

$66 3.2%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 33.6% $22

Getting Around

Diest

$29 * 1.4%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 47.1% $14

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $907 in Diest and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Diest pays 496% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $91.0 in Diest vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $345 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Diest

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

04:21 4:21 AM

10:21 10:21 AM

6 h ahead of Diest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,516

964,169

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Diest Cebu 11,030 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Diest
Cebu

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Diest vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 122% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 496% higher in Diest, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $907 in Diest versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 67% higher in Diest. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,039 per month in Diest versus $918 in Cebu – a 122% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,039 in Diest, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Diest. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cebu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Diest, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Diest and Cebu are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cebu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 122% less than in Diest. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.